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Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3 (ZReboot) recipe.

I love corned beef, but always felt it tasted better when I ordered it at a restaurant than when I made it at home. Not anymore. I love cooking with my Instant Pot, and after trail and error, I developed a very flavorful corned beef recipe with a lot of oomph. When you buy corned beef, there is a little packet of corned beef spices that accompanies the brisket. The secret is to use that and ADD your own corned beef spices to the mix — after you toast them. Mmmmm.

For those folks who are looking for a traditional corned beef recipe, don’t use the extra toasted spices. Just use the spice packet that comes with the corned beef. This recipe is still a keeper!

Servings: Serves 6 technically, but in my house this serves 4 because everyone had seconds

Ingredients:

For the corned beef:

• 3 lb corned beef brisket (rinsed) with spice packet. Corned beef briskets come packed in a salt brine, so if you don’t rinse your corned beef before cooking, it will be salty. Now, if you like salty food, you technically don’t have to rinse it. I do rinse mine, but I don’t go overboard. One good rinse is enough.
• 1 yellow onion, sliced thick
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
• 2.5 cups beef broth
• 12 ounces beer (lager style, nothing bitter)
• 1 cabbage, cut into 8 wedges (optional)

For the oomph:

• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp whole allspice
• little bit of a cinnamon stick (like 1/2 inch)
• 4 cloves
• 3 bay leaves, broken up
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

Place onions and garlic into your Instant Pot, then add your corned beef brisket, fatty side up. Sprinkle the spice packet over the brisket.

In a small saute pan over a low heat, add peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves. Don’t add any cooking oil to your pan. You’re going to toast the spices so they are more aromatic. Be sure to keep moving them around in the pan so they don’t stick or burn. The goal is not to cook them. You just heat them long enough for them to brown slightly and start to smell REALLY good. If you’re using red pepper flakes, I recommend adding them straight into the Instant Pot without toasting. Once they’ve gotten nice and toasty (and your kitchen smells really good), add them to your Instant Pot on top of your brisket.

Pour the beef broth on the brisket and add the beer. Cook on high for 90 minutes, then manually release steam. Take the brisket out, with bits of the onion and garlic and place it in a dish. Pour a little bit of the broth on top to keep it juicy (you’ll still have a lot of it left in the Instant Pot).

For the cabbage:

You’re going to cook your cabbage in the remaining broth that’s left in your Instant Pot. Yes, there will still be bits of onion in there, and there will be spices in there, too, but that adds to the flavor. You can strain it if you want, but I didn’t. The spices sink to the bottom and the cabbage tasted great. Add your cabbage wedges (make sure they are all partially submerged in the broth). Close the lid, seal the vent and pressure cook on high for 3-6 minutes, then manually release steam.

Note on cabbage cooking: Cook for 3 minutes if you want some crisp in your cabbage, and 6 minutes if you want them to be tender. Your cooking time for cabbage will also depend on how large your head of cabbage is. If you finish cooking your cabbage and decide you want it more tender, put it back in the Instant Pot on the saute function. Don’t cover it. The saute function will heat your pot quickly, causing your liquid to boil. This way, you can cook your cabbage until it’s as tender as you want.

Once the cabbage is done, use tongs to lift out a wedge of cabbage and place it in a bowl. Using tongs keeps the whole spices in the bottom of the pot. Then ladle broth from the Instant Pot into your bowl. Slice your brisket against the grain and place on top of the cabbage.

Wowza! Sooooo good!

Jen

Operations Manager
Plan Z Diet